Accessible Instructional Materials Center offers free school supplies for students with disabilities

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Accessible Instructional Materials Center is working to ensure that print-disabled students across Oklahoma have what they need to succeed in their classrooms as they return to school this fall.

The AIM Center, which is part of the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, provides free specialized school supplies for students who are blind, have visual impairments, have certain physical handicaps or have reading disabilities.

Over 80,000 children in Oklahoma have a disability, based on U.S. Census data from 2022. The AIM Center works to guarantee children who are print disabled have access to the same education as their peers by providing specialized learning materials for all ages and subjects.

A print disability is a condition that makes it difficult or impossible for a person to read standard printed materials, according to printdisability.org.

“Finding the right school supplies for students can be difficult, but even more so for those with low-vision or print-disabled children,” said Pepper Watson, director of the AIM Center. “We’re here to help with that.”

For children who are eligible, there are a variety of free school supplies available, including bold-lined notebook paper and notebooks, large-print and tactile rulers, large-print protractors, reading lights and guides, magnifiers, talking calculators and much more.

The AIM Center was established in 1999 as a depository for Braille and large print textbooks, standardized tests and required reading for loan to Oklahoma students who were blind or visually impaired. It has since expanded to include Braille literacy materials, assistive technology loans and early development tools. It now serves students who have a physical disability that makes it difficult to hold print materials, It also serves youth with reading disabilities, such as dyslexia, in addition to students who are blind or visually impaired.

Parents and teachers interested in receiving AIM Center services for their children and students should visit its website at https://oklahoma.gov/olbph/aim-center.html or email Pepper Watson at pwatson@okdrs.gov.

The Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is part of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. In 2024, the AIM Center served over 1,200 Oklahoma children. 

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